Thanks for election work

As we wrap up after the 2018 elections, I have a number of people and organizations to thank for their assistance in conducting the primary and general elections.

Election judges: 141 citizens served at the 16 precincts in the city, many of them working the entire day from 6 a.m. to after 9 p.m. They were diligent in following state election laws and procedures, and implemented the use of the new electronic poll books with ease. I especially want to thank the head judges, who were responsible for overseeing each precinct: Lynn Aldrich, Susan Anderson, Carol Borzyskowski, Arlene Compton, Ruth Dalleska, Joyati Debnath, Barbara Hennessy, Darrell Monson, Myrna Olson, Linda Seppanen, Pamela Simon-Salwey, David Terpstra, Brenda Terpstra, Matt Vetter, Kate von Rohr, and Rosemary Wadewitz. Thank you for your commitment to the city’s election process.

Polling sites: The following organizations graciously allowed us to use their premises as a voting location: Radiant Church, Sauer Health Care, Faith Lutheran Church, St. Anne of Winona, Cotter Schools, Winona State University, Minnesota State College - Southeast, National Guard Armory, and the Winona Housing & Redevelopment Authority - Family Community Center. Thank you for opening your doors to a large number of voters and any inconveniences that may have caused.

Park maintenance and city hall maintenance crews: they set up and took down the equipment at each of the precincts in efficient manner. Thank you for doing the heavy lifting for me.

The voters of Winona: we had a record turnout for a midterm election at just over 78 percent. The last time the turnout was this high for a non-presidential election was in November 1962! Thank you for your participation and for your confidence in the election judges and the city, county, and state elections officials in conducting our elections.

For more detailed information on voter turnout in the city, go to the elections page, www.cityofwinona.com.

The next scheduled election will be the return of the presidential primary to Minnesota, which is tentatively scheduled for March 3, 2020.